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UNITED LSTATES v PATENT Ormea.

CHARLES TENNANT LEE, or nosToN," MAss ,faciiusmrrs.fy

sPEcIrIcA'I-ION foaming pare of' Letters Patent No. 381,259, aateaAprn 17, Issa. `f y Application Eled May 17,1887. Serial No.v238,'45'2. (No specimensl i yT all whom it may concern:

. Beit known that I, CHARLES TENNnNT LEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston,A in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foot-Coverings; Aand I do herebydeclare the following to be a fullclear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

f This invention relates toa cheap and. novel construction. of f foot-coverings, suchl as shoes and slippers, the object being to provide a lighter, cooler, better ventilated, and more ornamental article of foot-wear, whichk will also be easy to thel wearer and useful for many purposes-as, for instance, in sea-bathing; and the invention consists in a boot, shoe, slipper, 'or other article of foot wear or covering made fromthe fibrous inner` linings of the Lua acutanguloa or dishclothgourd, as itis commonly called.` 'I

In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate a foot-covering formedv from the linings of the Lu'a acutcmgula in the manner herein set forth,"Figure 1 represents theiunery lining of a seed-pod of -the Lua acutangula spread open. Fig. 2`is a perspective view of an article of foot-wear made from these seedpod linings. v

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in al1 the figures. v

The material out of which I construct shoesl and the like articles, as herein specified, belongs to the `botanical family Oucurbitace, genus Dafa, and species Acntangula cylndrica or Egypt-tace. These names of the species appear'to be employed interchangeably to designate substantially Athesame plant, the only difference between the cylindrical and the acutangula residing in thel character ofthe outer skin,theinside portion of each beingof the same fibrous texture. This Lufa acutangula, as it may be called, is found in the Antilles and throughout the tropics generally. It also grows in the southern portions of the United States and in Japan( Itis a vinewhich produces seed-pods which attain considerable size and'which have fibrous linings composed of interlaced bers. These linings are of extreme, lightness and much strength and constitute'the material out of ywhich my improved articles of foot-'Wear are manufactured. To make a boot, shoe, or slipper or similar article,I proceed in either of two ways."- In the rst waythe fibrous portion of the podfis split longitudinally andthe core or placentee removed, thus-leaving a sheet of material similar t0 that shown in ]d"ig. 1. It Willbe notedthatthe fibrous liningsare easily taken, 6oA V\ fromthe pod, for the latter has an outer `covering, which when dry is readily detachable from the lining. This fibrous` sheet of the lining isthen formed into thenpper of a shoe .Y

rupon a last inthe same manner as'anordinary 6 5* shoe or slipper Wouldbe. In Fig. 2 this upper is lettered' A.' In order to form the upper more easilyv it may beffun'd convenientl to l' moisten the fabric, after which it can be'shapedl in a mold or other device or lby hand. The 7o f wetting of the material develops a mncilagif` nous substance therein,whieh serves' as a stifl fener'to the article after it becomes dry. The

upperAis next" fixed upon a sole,YB,made` A 'in the proper shapeof yleather or of the same -75 j kind 'of avbrous sheet as that forming the upper ory of the placental portion. Wheny one'lining is found insufficient to make the lupper of the necessary size,several linings may be cut into the desired yshapes and sewedto- 8o gether. Trimmings and/other ornamentations Y may beplaced 0n the shoes ,thus constructed in the same manner as they are -used with the ordinary leather shoes.

.Another mode of making' the per consists in taking' advantage of the natural form of the gourd, which approximates the form of a shoe, and .therefore innot splitting the lining into asheet, but making insteadl an.`

incisioninto the side of the gourd nearer the f.

larger end of sufflcientsize to admittheen? trance of a last after the placentee has been removed through the incision. The lining' may be 4vturned, if desired, sothat the inside surface shall become the outside, thus placing v the smoother surface within andl bringingthe placental ridges upon the outside. When the last hasbeenintroduced within thegourd, it

will be easy to shape the latter into .the formof a shoe upon it.

the heel end and draw up the toe lpart after f cutting off as much of thelength of the gourd shoeor slip- 85 e i It is only necessary to sew roof as is required to iit the length of the last. To this forma sole may or may not be added, as already specified, in the first instance or in -any other way.

The article of foot-Wear herein described is found to be especially advantageous for use iu sea-bathing. Its interlaced fibrous structure makes it exceedingly light and cool and permits the free passage of water through it. It

a shoe, slipper, or other article of foot-Wear made Wholly or iu part from the fibrous inner Ylining of the seed-pod of the vine or plant known as the Lua acutangula, as specified.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, 2o

the herein-described foot-covering, consisting of an upper made from the fibrous innerlining of the seed-pod of the I/zqa acutangula and a leather sole secured to said upper, as-specitied.

In testimony whereof I aiix my 'signature in 25 presence of two witnesses.

CEAS. TENNANT LEE.

Witnesses: d

y GEORGE O. G. COALE,

FRED B. ONEIL. 

